Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the Winter Classic call rink-side from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., home of the University of Michigan Wolverines football team. It will be the first time a full broadcast team has called an NHL regular-season game at ice level in NBC Sports history.

NHL Live host Liam McHugh will be on-site at Michigan Stadium alongside former players and analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick to provide pre-game and post-game analysis, as well as commentary during intermissions. In addition, The Weather Channel on-camera meteorologist and storm tracker Jim Cantore will be on-site to provide weather updates and conduct interviews throughout the game, a role he has held at previous NHL Winter Classics.

Following are quotes from today’s Winter Classic media conference call:

Eddie Olczyk: “Make no mistake – this is the marquee game on the NHL schedule that everybody wants to be a part of…Original Six matchup, which I think really takes this game to another level...I played three-and-a-half years in Toronto, played in this rivalry between the Maple Leafs and the Red Wings, so that adds to the beauty of this game.”

Olczyk on historic aspect of Winter Classic: “For some of these players, certainly knowing the history of the Big House and what it’s like to see a college football game in Ann Arbor, and (to) have the opportunity to play in front of 100,000 people in a venue like that…that’s what makes this game and this day so unique. You’re going into places that have an unbelievable history.”

Doc Emrick on calling game at ice level: “The speed of the game will be very quick…to be that close to the action is going to be thrilling.”

Emrick: “Any time you bring it up to any one of the players, immediately there’s a smile and a sense of excitement…you can read it on their faces, and you can get a sense that this is a day that they’ll never forget.”

Pierre McGuire: “This is a playoff game…this has the makings of being one of the true classics of the NHL season.”

McGuire on matchup: “I’m looking forward to the young star power of Toronto with Phil Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk, and the quick-strike offense that they’re capable of providing…you look at the Detroit Red Wings…you still have Pavel Datsyuk, you just got Henrik Zetterberg back, and you’ve got two dynamic forwards in Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar.”

McGuire on hosting the Winter Classic at a football stadium: “I remember the football environment from Heinz Field…I remember after the first period…skating off the ice to do an interview with Sidney Crosby, the noise was cascading down on us…you could actually feel the ice shaking.”

The Red Wings will make their second appearance in the Winter Classic, having defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4, in 2009 at Wrigley Field, while the Maple Leafs become the first Canadian team to appear in the annual New Year’s Day outdoor affair. The event will aim to set the Guinness World Record for highest attendance at a hockey game, which was set at Michigan Stadium in a college hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State in 2010 (104,073).

In advance of the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, NBCSN will provide live coverage of two alumni games between former members of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, starting at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 31, from Comerica Park in Detroit, Mich.

The Winter Classic will also have an Olympic element, with less than 50 days remaining until the start of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. During the second intermission, NBC will provide live coverage of the final roster announcement for the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s ice hockey team. Following the game, NBC will also provide coverage of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men’s ice hockey team roster announcement.

NBCSN’s NHL coverage begins tonight 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a matchup of the two previous Stanley Cup Champions, when Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks host Dustin Brown and the Los Angeles Kings. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (analyst) will provide live commentary from United Center in Chicago, Ill. NBCSN’s Sunday night NHL coverage begins Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET, when the Blackhawks host Patrick Marleau and the San Jose Sharks. Emrick and McGuire will have the call from Chicago on Sunday night.

In addition to its NHL coverage, NBCSN will present outdoor college hockey on Saturday evening, when No. 13 Notre Dame faces No. 7 Boston College at Fenway Park at 7:30 p.m. ET. Dan Parkhurst (play-by-play) and Ken Hodge (analyst) will provide live commentary.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream all 2013-14 NHL regular-season games televised on NBC and NBCSN, including this week’s Kings-Blackhawks and Sharks-Blackhawks matchups, the Winter Classic, both alumni games, and Notre Dame-Boston College.

NHL Live, NBC Sports Group live NHL pre-game and post-game studio show, begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN tonight, and at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday prior to Sharks-Blackhawks. Russ Thaler will host NHL Live on Monday with Jones and Milbury, and McHugh will host NHL Live on Sunday with Jones and Roenick.

Date

Coverage

Network

Time (ET)

Mon., December 30

NHL Live

NBCSN

7 p.m.

Los Angeles at Chicago

NBCSN

8 p.m.

Tue., December 31

Winter Classic Alumni Game #1

NBCSN

1 p.m.

NHL Top 10

NBCSN

3 p.m.

NHL Top 10

NBCSN

3:30 p.m.

Winter Classic Alumni Game #2

NBCSN

4 p.m.

Wed., January 1

Toronto at Detroit – 2014 NHL Winter Classic

NBC

1 p.m.

Return to Vancouver – 2010 Gold Medal Game

NBCSN

8 p.m.

Sat., January 4

Notre Dame at Boston College (Fenway Park)

NBCSN

7:30 p.m.

Sun., January 5

NHL Live

NBCSN

7:30 p.m.

San Jose at Chicago

NBCSN

8 p.m.

WINTER CLASSIC PRODUCES MOST-WATCHED NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAMES

The Winter Classic, which was co-created by NBC Sports and the NHL and debuted in 2008, has produced five of the six most-watched NHL regular-season games in the past 38 years (average viewers).

Viewership

Date

Network

Game

1. 4.5 million

Jan. 1, 2011

NBC

Capitals-Penguins

2. 4.4 million

Jan. 1, 2009

NBC

Red Wings-Blackhawks

3. 3.8 million

Jan. 27, 1996

FOX

Six-game regional coverage

4. 3.8 million

Jan. 1, 2008

NBC

Penguins-Sabres

5. 3.74 million

Jan. 2, 2012

NBC

Rangers-Flyers

6. 3.68 million

Jan. 1, 2010

NBC

Flyers-Bruins

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports LiveExtra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream NHL coverage via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Games airing on:

NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;

NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

2013-14 REGULAR-SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 103 NHL regular-season games during the 2013-14 season, featuring 13 games on NBC and 90 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive NHL coverage this season.

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NHL markets such as Boston (Bruins), Philadelphia (Flyers), Washington D.C. (Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and the Bay Area (Sharks), will air more than 300 live NHL games and surround the 2013-14 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.

Hopefully, the Winter Classic will move to prime-time on an annual basis.

And being from Boston, here’s hoping the Hub gets the 2016 Winter Classic, and that the Boston Bruins finally get to play their arch-rival, the Montreal Canadiens, in a Winter Classic.

(I have heard that the 2015 Winter Classic will be at Nationals Park in Washington with the Washington Capitals hosting the New York Rangers, and that an official announcement on the 2015 game will be made during this year’s Winter Classic telecast)

Ultima

@JosephHopefully, the Winter Classic will move to prime-time on an annual basis.

What’s wrong with daytime sports? Do you live on the west coast and hate having to get up early to watch the games?

E

I like the early start time. Since the BCS ruined college football on New Years Day, the winter classic has been a terrific option.
Where is Bob Costas? He was involved with all of the games so far.

Gary

Rather watch an NHL game than an NBA game. To bad ESPN doesn’t talk hockey.

Torrid

Is it too early or is it that time of year again…where the Torrid returns to torment hockey fans? what say u Gary?

Just checking out the Winter Classic Hype today … hardly see any great coverage of it anywhere much – college bowls filling the air and all but I thought this was it!!! the ‘big’ house – record attendance and all that jazz ….. do I hear a faint fizzing sound, you know, like a deflating balloon?